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25 February 2004
BARCELONA – A political row blew up over a demonstration Thursday against the ETA truce in Catalonia.
The terrorist group said last week it would stop armed operations in Catalonia.
The move came after a political scandal when the deputy leader of the Catalan regional government, Josep Lluis Carod-Rovira, was forced to resign after it was revealed he had held secret meetings with ETA.
The scandal has damaged the Left in Spain in the run-up to the 14 March general election.
A demonstration in Barcelona, planned for next Sunday, was brought forward to Thursday to show “solidarity” for the rest of Spain – which is still a target for ETA attacks.
Gaspar Llamazares, head of the left-wing IU party, attacked the ruling conservative Popular Party (PP) for refusing to join in the demonstration.
In a press conference in Zaragoza, Llamazares said the PP “would have much to explain about its absence”.
Llamazares said after the next elections, all parties should join forces against the terrorists.
The PP has refused to take part as a protest against the three-party pact which governs Catalonia.
It claims the main socialist party PSOE should break links with the left-wing Catalan nationalist party ERC, which is led by Carod.
[Copyright EFE with Expatica]
Subject: Spanish news